Funds for Vimals appeal.. HE NEEDS OUR HELP
Donation protected
Hi there, we as a group of residents from Rotherhithe are asking for your help…..
As many of you already know Vimal is sadly facing deportation and today (19/01/22) his appeal was rejected.
We thought this fund would help go towards another appeal which we are hoping can be successful but if not this money could be given to him, as he’s not allowed to work nor volunteer whilst he awaits his appeal.
Please also sign the petition below..
Follow our twitter account @letvimalstay & use the hashtag #LetVimalStay
Please donate whatever you can… Vimal needs our help ❣️
BACKGROUND INFO:
A Rotherhithe student who received royal recognition for his work in the community during the pandemic faces losing his right to live in the UK within days following a series of administrative errors by the Home Office.
Vimal Pandya has been described as a “shining light” by local residents after dedicating his time to ensuring those in self-isolation during the first national lockdown received regular food and essential supplies, visiting the cash and carry every morning and delivering shopping on foot until 11.30pm. Vimal also spent his time calling isolated and vulnerable members of the community to lend an ear and offer companionship.
His outstanding community service brought him to the attention of Sir Kenneth Olisa, Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London, who on February 12 last year wrote to Vimal on behalf of the Queen offering thanks for his extraordinary efforts.
Since then however, Vimal has been informed of a final deadline of January 14 2022 to regularise his immigration status — a battle he has been fighting for many years and at great cost in the face of bureaucratic hurdles placed by the Home Office.
Having arrived in the UK from India in 2011 to study, Vimal was refused re-entry following a return home in April 2014 to take an ill relative to her parents, UK Border Force agents informed him the college he was studying at had lost its right to sponsorship, but neither the college nor the Home Office informed Vimal. Officers also erroneously advised him that he could apply to another college for study and sponsorship using an immigration status notice that would be posted in due course. However, this was never received, and having had both his passport and biometric residence permit retained by agents at London City Airport, Vimal was left unable to secure further sponsorship.
Vimal has spent thousands of pounds attempting to regularise his immigration status and complete his education, in addition to the many thousands of pounds in lost college fees.
While awaiting permission to continue his studies Vimal has become an integral part of the Rotherhithe Community.
Organizer
Rianna Bempong
Organizer
England